Restructuring of agriculture in Ceara State: Notes on changes in the conditions for reproducing the small farming sector

Since the 1950s, agricultural structures in the State of Ceara have undergo ne profound changes, including both the growth of small farms on the one ha nd and the development of indirect or precarious occupation of land on the other. One consequence of this restructuring has been the impoverishment of small farmers, who have faced increasing difficulty in access to land, whi ch in turn has aggravated the conditions for the social reproduction of thi s social sector. Based on data from the Brazilian Census Bureau (IBGE), the article describes these changes before attempting to identify two types of factors that have helped increase pressure on the land market: the mercant ilization of farming land, causing small farmers to be forced off the land, and the first phase of a demographic transition involving decreased mortal ity.